Fig. 5 S1

Delta-Notch gene expression and patterning consequences.(A) Delta genes dlc and delta-like 4 (dll4) are expressed by isolated xanthophores of zebrafish and pearl danio. csf1r, xanthophore lineage marker; actb1, actin b1. notch1a is expressed by melanophores of both species. pmela, melanophore lineage marker. Fins containing numerous cell types are positive controls. Preliminary surveys also revealed a variety of additional Delta-Notch ligands and receptors expressed by cells in skin and other tissues in the environment of pigment cells that were not expressed detectably in xanthophores or melanophores (data not shown). (B) Zebrafish expressing constitutively active Notch intracellular domain (NICD) in the melanophore lineage exhibited wider stripes (t₈=5.4, p<0.001) yet ~30% fewer melanophores (t₈=6.9, p<0.0001) than non-transgenic siblings. Dashed yellow lines, approximate dorsal- and ventral-most stripe boundaries. (C) Zebrafish dlc mutants have more interstripe melanophores than wild-type siblings (t₉=4.8, p<0.001), though total melanophore numbers were not different (P=0.6). Dashed lines, approximate location boundaries of interstripe as determined for wild-type fish (see Materials and methods). Scale bar: 200 µm (in B, for A and B).